COURAGEOUS KHAN FINALLY CALLS IT A DAY

AMIR KHAN has brought an end to one of the finest careers in the modern history of British boxing by announcing his retirement at the age of 35. His decision came almost three months after he was stopped by his great rival Kell Brook and it will be met with relief that he is no longer prepared to take such risks in the ring. With Khan’s habit of selecting the most dangerous possible opponents, and then the front-foot manner in which he faced them, it had become a matter of serious concern that as a clearly faded fighter he was said to be contemplating a rematch with Brook. Days after Brook himself retired, Khan (right) has done likewise, which ought to give rise to a wider appreciation of a body of work that saw him win Olympic silver in Athens aged just 17 — contributing to a funding boom that has since fuelled repeated boxing success for Team GB — and then unify the world lightwelterweight titles as a professional. Khan also contested world belts at welterweight and middleweight, most recently in 2019. His final record saw Khan balance 34 wins against six defeats, with 15 opponents either former or current world champions — though it was the Bolton fighter’s great courage that will likely define how boxing fans remember his exploits in the ring. If the knockout defeat at middleweight by Canelo Alvarez in 2016 could be classified as a gutsy misadventure, then arguably his peak moment came in weathering a relentless 10th-round storm to defeat the Argentinian Marcos Maidana in Las Vegas in 2010. It was certainly key in Khan achieving levels of popularity in the US that are rare for a British fighter. Khan wrote on Twitter: ‘It’s time to hang up my gloves. I feel blessed to have had such an amazing career that has spanned over 27 years. I want to say a heartfelt thanks to the incredible teams I have worked with and to my family, friends and fans for the love and support they have shown me.’